Log: Nathan and Jubilee

[x-jubilee.livejournal.com]

Who: Jubilation Lee, Nathan Dayspring
When: Friday 25th March 2005 Time: 3:00pm

What Happens:

Jubilee goes to visit Nathan - they talk - she shows how horribly her bedside manner is - Nathan freaks her out - she decides to bring back a newspaper in the morning.





Jubilee knocked on the door softly and entered, not wanting to disturb
Nathan overly much but wanting to let him know someone was coming to visit.
She gripped the balloons in her hand, a large yellow smiley face one with
'Get well soon' and another silvery generic one because you couldn't just
have one balloon and she'd liked the colour. It happened to have a bunny on
it.

"Hey Teach, you awake?"

Jubilee. Nathan opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling. "Come in," he
called back dully. They had told him they were letting him have a wider
range of visitors... what, yesterday? The day before? He was really starting
to lose track...

Jubilee walked over, remembering that he wouldn't be able to move much or at
all right now. She didn't particularly know anything about spinal injuries
but she'd asked Madelyn a few questions so it wasn't a horrible shock to see
him lying there. She tied the balloons to the frame of his bed and smiled
down at him.

"Had to wait till they said you were okay for visitors before I came to
check up on ya. I brought balloons!" she said, looking around curiously.

It was to all intents and purposes, a hospital room. Function over
aesthetics, walls that indescribable 'hospital room' colour. She looked up
at the ceiling...photos. Of Moira and some pink blurry things. She wondered
how long he'd be here for. If they were putting photos on the ceiling, it'd
appear it might be awhile...hmm.

He was really not going to panic. Not just because Jubilee was in the room
and he was in this damned traction rig and couldn't move. She had made
progress over the last couple of months. Yes. Progress. She wasn't about to
start in on him like she had back before Christmas when he'd been lying on
the couch upstairs, blind...

He wasn't replying...that was usually considered a bad thing when someone
was visiting someone. Jubilee frowned and stepped back a bit so she wasn't
crowding him so much. She knew Nate probably didn't consider a visit from
her to be on par with say, one from Amanda but actual verbage would have
been nice. Still, Jubilee, patron saint of appearingly completely oblivious
behaviour wasn't about to give up so easily as that. She'd just continue
like she hadn't noticed his non reply.

"So like, been stayin' with Mads since you all got back. She's kinda doing
an impersonation of the one armed man...only, you know, without the
murdering people and havin' some guy runnin' around trying to accuse her of
stuff. Okay, so maybe not like the one armed man at all. But I'm helpin' her
with stuff an that's kinda cool cause I don't much get a chance to help
people. Usually I'm the one breakin' them and then havin' people do the
glaring thing, which totally ruins your day." Jubilee replied, flipping the
babbling switch and controlling the desire to twitch uncomfortably.

One-armed man? Madelyn must have been hurt. But if she wasn't in the medlab,
probably not too badly... that was good. "That's good," he murmured, his
voice coming out flat. "That you're helping her."

She'd not had all that much experience with sick people. Where she'd been
before coming here you tried hard not to get sick, and if someone was sick
you didn't do something as stupid as hanging around them. Afterall, you had
to take care of yourself, and medicine was expensive. Spinal injury, the
very word made her want to jump out of her skin. "Yeah. It's terribly
compassionate of me. I'm sure I'll win the Mother Teresa award sometime
soon."

No, that wasn't what she'd come here for. She wasn't here to pick a fight,
or to get irritable because a sick man couldn't be happy to see her. Wasn't
this what got her in trouble with people? Reacting badly...Crap.

"Sorry. I'm not good at this. Just came to see that you're okay, ya know?
Wanted to know you made it out in one piece." Jubilee said.

"All my pieces are still attached. Not really intact, though." He was
actually surprised he hadn't broken more bones. Just his back, and the ribs.
The burns and the gashes and the bruises hurt plenty anyway, though.

"So I'm seein'. Although, considerin' you were dealin' with Mistra it's
pretty good that you got out alive at all." Jubilee replied, retreating into
an even conversational tone as she imagined just how badly it could have
turned out. She didn't have Nathan's real life experience with Mistra but
she'd seen some of his memories of them. "Although I'm guessin' that's
probably not much comfort right now. I could bring you a newspaper or
somethin' if you'd like. Can't be a hell of a lot of fun staring at a
ceiling all day, an well, I could read it for ya. If you didn't mind my
company, that is. Otherwise, I guess Amanda or that've probably thought of
it already."

"If you'd like." The reply was apathetic. He hoped she wouldn't take it the
wrong way, but he couldn't summon up much enthusiasm for anything, the last
day or so. Anything or anyone.

Jubilee shrugged, she'd bring by a paper in the morning then. She'd have to
skip her morning run but she could probably just do that at night anyhow and
move her studying around a bit. She'd be taking some time off from her
normal routine anyhow with helping Madelyn out so it wasn't like it was some
terrible burden or anything. Besides, hopefully it'd help pull Nathan out of
the funk he currently appeared to be in.

She supposed breaking your back and being stuck in traction was a good
enough excuse to get the grumps. She'd have probably thrown a bedpan by this
stage and been maliciously giving people telepathic headaches just for the
hell of it...she wondered if he had his TK still switched on. Madelyn hadn't
mentioned anything about him having damaged it at all.

"I could probably be sufficiently insufferable enough if you wanted to yell
at someone?" Jubilee replied, a grin evident.

She'd got to use a big word, two even. It was always a good day when you
could think of a good reason to be a complete smart ass.

"Don't bait me." No emotion, not even an edge of warning. "Moira will kick
you out if you do. People aren't supposed to be agitating me."

Wow, tough room. Not that she had Jamie's comedic timing, or that much
subtlety but she could usually get at least a smile out of most people. She
supposed she shouldn't bait him, and it would get her kicked out with no
option of return. A small part of her wanted to say something incendiary
though, if only to get some reaction out of him, something of the normal
Nate she was used to. She didn't like this lifeless voice he was currently
using. Put her in mind too much of the White room and the boy she'd spoken
to in the dream.

She resisted the urge to go silent and just watch him. Since he couldn't
move his head, he wouldn't be able to see where she was and it wouldn't be a
fair tactic. Even if it might get him using something other then that tone.
Even if right now that tone was beginning to scare her quite badly.

They couldn't have done something to him, surely? Moira would have known...

"You, um. They must have you on some good drugs, hey?" she said, smiling
wryly at how lame that sounded.

His fingers brushed the button for the morphine drip, but he didn't press
it. Better to have a clear head. "Something like that." He was tempted,
though. It must have been a while. Everything hurt, ached, throbbed.

She nodded, looking longingly at the door. She could come back later, bring
the paper. It'd give her something to do rather then just stand here
and try to think of something to say that A. Wouldn't make him angry and B.
Wouldn't be asking about the weather.

"Look, I'm just gonna go, hey? Don't wanna tire ya out too much or Mandy
would have my head, an since I just got her to start talkin' to me again,
can't have that. I'll bring the paper by tomorrow morning."

She made a bee-line for the door, hoping she didn't look like she was
running, even if that's exactly what she was doing in a sense.

"Jubilee..." He heard her stop moving. "The balloons are cute," Nathan
murmured as they bobbed into his line of sight. It was all he could give
her. Hopefully she'd understand.

"Thanks." she replied finally with a smile, the panic of a moment before
fading as she slipped out of the room and let the door close nosily behind
her.

Maybe he wasn't the Nathan that she'd known before the week they went after
Mistra but he wasn't Cable either. She'd ask Madelyn about it before she
came back in the morning. She'd bring a couple of papers, since she didn't
know what he liked but she would keep trying. Maybe next time she'd even get
a smile.